Expert on hate groups attacked in St. Petersburg

June 22, 2007 2:00am

An expert on Russian extremist and neo-Nazi groups was attacked this week in St. Petersburg.Valentina Uzunova was assaulted outside the home of a murdered colleague, Vladimir Girenko, the Russian Web site Fontakna.ru reported. Girenko was murdered three years ago as he was preparing to testify against the violent neo-Nazi group Schultz88.Shortly after leaving the Gireko’s home, a young woman reportedly approached Uzunova and demanded that she turn over documents she was carrying. When she refused, the woman physically attacked her, stealing the documents and Uzunova’s earrings, but leaving her purse. Uzunova is stable and recovering in a local hospital.Uzunova, a member of the group For a Russia Without Racism, was scheduled to testify the following day against Vladislav Nikolsky, a publisher of xenophobic literature, and was involved in another trial as an expert witness. The police are not investigating the case as a hate crime.